Regional+Issues+and+Perspectives

EDEL 635 Cindy Wenrich Large Group Project-Regional Issues Leadership Problem

Statement of Problem: Is the accountability system present in the reauthorization of IDEA, mainly the end of the year assessment called SOLs, the right way to measure progress for special education students? Are there other ways of measuring adequate yearly progress and growth other than standardized testing?

My assignment is to look at the problem from a regional perspective using county policy. (ISLLC 6-Public policy is shaped to provide quality education for students.)

Policy 23 in the Pulaski County Public Schools Policy is the Right of Students with Disability to participate in State and District Standardized Testing. Pulaski County Public Schools ensures that children with disabilities are included in general State and district wide assessment programs, with appropriate accommodations, where necessary. For each student with a disability identified under the Individuals Disabilities Education Act, the individualized education program (IEP) committee has the responsibility to determine how the student will participate in the State and district-wide assessment. It is expected that all students with disabilities will participate in State and district wide assessments. The IEP committee will make decisions about the student’s participation and how a student will participate in State and district-wide assessments independently for each content area. 1. IEP committee will have responsibility for determining the disabled student’s need for and selection of accommodations to be utilized in each content area. 2. Accommodations selected for use shall be those the disabled student generally needs and uses during classroom instruction and assessment. 3. Accommodations selected for use by the disabled student shall be identified in the student’s IEP. 4. The decision to exempt a disabled student from one or more of the sub-tests or content areas of a State or district-wide assessment shall be documented. A. The documentation shall include a statement of why the assessment is not appropriate for the student. B. The documentation shall further contain a statement describing how the student will be assessed. C. The decision regarding the disabled student’s participation in state and district-wide assessments shall be reviewed annually prior to each test administration date. (ISLLC Standard 2-Barriers to student learning are identified, clarified and addressed)

Pulaski County Public School Board Policy IKF: STANDARDS OF LEARNING AND GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS Students with disabilities for whom participation in the SOL testing program is deemed inappropriate according to their IEP or 504 plan will be expected to demonstrate proficiency on an alternative assessment prescribed by the Board of Education in accordance with federal laws and regulations beginning with the school year 2000-2001. (ISLLC 2-A variety of sources of information is used to make decisions.)

The Pulaski County Public Schools and the Special Education Policy Manual does not address whether SOLs adequately test our students with special needs. They do address the need for the students to have the proper accommodations and the assessment that will be appropriate for them.(ISLLC 2 Student learning is assessed using a variety of techniques.) Pulaski County Public School Board draws from VSBA (Virginia School Board Association) for many of their policy statements as does many other counties in the region. (ISLLC 2- Barriers to student learning are identified, clarified and addressed.)

Pulaski County Public School Policy Manual https://pcva.us/administrationassessment/Policy_Manual/Intro.htm